Horizontal and vertical circulation of the library.

In this essay I am going to analyze the circulation in the Salt Lake City Library. This library has many types of necessities and as a result it has various types if spaces. I am going to explain how these spaces are organized so they create a good circulation inside and outside the building.

A space with specific needs as a library is supposed to have various types of spaces that can be connected by the horizontal circulation. As we’ve learn, horizontal circulation depends mostly of the spectator perception of a space and the way architectural elements can modify that perception. These architectural elements can be identified in the entrance of the library that its not only produced by doors but by a very strong strategy of the architect to use a big structural element to guide the people to a specific area in which the doors are located. Also as we go inside the building we can see that there is a big hall with appropriates dimensions in which exist a horizontal connection with several areas next to it, achieve with corridors connecting each space.
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There is another type of circulation in this building. The vertical circulation is supposed to connect one floor to another, but it’s more than that. It’s the connection that has to exist between the levels of a building and the way a person is going to move and feel vertically in it. In this library the vertical connection between its levels is achieved by stairs and several elevators that change position every specific amount of levels depending on the changes of the shape of the building. There is also another strategy used in it to establish this connection of levels, by big spaces that are shared by several levels in which collective activities occur.
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Finally, it’s important to say that this building has been made to create a very strong connection between horizontal and vertical circulation. Because most spaces are related and they maintain and order and sequence which state very clearly that it was very important for the architect to create a building made for multiple interaction of spaces.

http://clear.msu.edu/viewpoint/viewAudio.php?_ID=_t_5085_1276612351